The Creations And Inspirations Of An Intuitive Artist

Archive for the ‘NaNoWriMo’ Category

I kept it pretty quiet this year but only because I didn’t know for sure I was going to do it until November started. As you can see, today I finished my novel draft clocking in at 50,124 words and I’m really happy. I thought I wasn’t going to make it for a while there over the weekend as I was really far behind. I guess it just shows what you can accomplish when you set you mind to it.

It’s official, I finished NaNo 2013 and what a month it’s been. I always think NaNo is a good idea for me and I always forget just how much time it takes all told to do, but hey, I’ve come out the other side with a couple of days to spare and something else to be proud of this year.

I finished the first draft of my fantasy novel, wrote half of an unexpected short story and returned to write another chapter of an old project that I had been putting off. All told a productive and enjoyable month of free writing and a chaotic imagination allowed to run free!

For all those who are interested in my novel here’s another snippet from my NaNo scribblings… enjoy!

Ash awoke with a start, sweating profusely and clutching wildly at his side. A loud scream flew from his mouth waking the triplets more affectively than any alarm. He could barely see them through the haze that clouded his vision but he knew they were there, feeling them draw closer and place their cool, withered hands over his body. Whatever it was that they were doing it helped, eventually easing his mind to clear and the pain to subside.

“What did you see?” Marta asked, fear evident in her voice for the first time since they had met. He locked his gaze with her white eyes and knew that even though she could not see him, he could not fool her so attempting to hide the truth would be pointless.

“Death…” he murmured breathlessly, “…death and a dragon.”

To all those that participated in NaNoWriMo this year well done, whether you ‘win’ or not I think you always get something out of it in the long run.

So NaNo seems to be kicking my butt, progress is slow and I’m playing catch up but I did what I set out to do, which was to finish the first draft of my novel. Once I hit that goal I lost a lot of motivation to continue which set me back by a good few days.

Eventually though I began writing a short story called The Letter which I’ve really begun to enjoy. There’s no planning involved just free writing and the opportunity to enjoy all the random surprises the plot is taking with my main character Susan…

“Tea? What kind of a nightmare was this? Some might call it an adventure but to me it really was a nightmare. Bad enough that I had to change my routine but drink tea as well? Maybe it was a sick joke?

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike tea I just don’t drink it, not since that day back in 2002 when Mum made me a cup and a moth flew into it. Sure it could have happened with any beverage but it didn’t, it happened with tea and now every time I see a cup I’m reminded of that moth, nose diving into the liquid and flapping about until it drowned, contaminating my drink with it’s moth germs. As you may have guessed, moths are also a big no-no for me.”

And so it begins…well technically it began two days ago but hey, I’ve been busy writing!

I feel very positive about NaNo this year, perhaps because I am determined to meet my goal and I enjoy the story I’m working on. After last years apathy it’s a welcome relief, but then I’m not in the same place I was when November came round last year, I’m certainly in a happier frame of mind.

The novel I’m working on is one that I’ve been writing since the beginning of the year, a fantasy novel and the first of a planned trilogy. I don’t know, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself here but that’s how I envision the story playing out; over the course of three books following two main characters, childhood friends who, after one disastrous incident in their village are forced into a situation that they are at odds in how to deal with. I don’t want to give too much away but there is plenty of mystery, intrigue, magic and adventure in store for the pair, with much of what occurs in the first book finding explanation and meaning in the second.

So how is it going? Well I’m just over the 5000 word mark now, though previously I have written about half of the story already. Of course I’m only counting my writing for November in the total. I admit that I’m thrilled and surprised at my progress so far, squeezing in writing time around the kidlets is not easy but I’ve shown myself that it is possible if I am determined to do it.

Will I be a ‘winner’ this year? Aside from making the 50000 total as long as I finish the first draft of my novel I will have done what I set out to do. The way things are going at the moment I think I could well do it, though anything could happen between now and the end of the month.

Are any of you out there doing NaNo? If so how is it going for you? I’m always happy to have new connections/buddies on the NaNo site so feel free to add me. My username there is Rhedyn and I have this thing for seeing the little blue bars in my buddy list fill up over the month… it’s both satisfying and motivating.

For now I’ll leave you with this, a small excerpt from this morning’s coffee shop scribbling:

“It’s not funny you know… Lore? Come back here and tell me what in Calcadia is going on!” Barely, just barely, she saw movement in the deep shadows of the passageway. A figure slowly edged closer and the glowing fungi in the chamber all but blinked their light into non-existence as two green slitted eyes peered out of the darkness at her.